President Obama Signs Historic Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights Into Law

On Friday, President Obama signed into law a groundbreaking piece of legislation that grants basic rights to survivors of sexual assault—one that protects those who come forward to report and bring their cases to court and amends how rape kits are handled in sexual assault cases.

Introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in February of 2016, the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act focused heavily on revising how the medical exams that sexual assault survivors undergo to gather forensic evidence—more commonly known as rape kits—are handled in federal criminal cases. The kits are notorious for being backlogged and frequently go untested or are destroyed before they can be processed. In drafting the bill, Senator Shaheen worked closely with Amanda Nguyen, a 24-year-old woman who, after struggling to prevent her own rape kit from being destroyed by the state of Massachusetts, founded Rise, an organization dedicated to protecting the legal rights of sexual assault survivors.

The legislation ensures that survivors of sexual assault in federal criminal cases have the right to undergo such forensic evidence collection without being charged by law enforcement. Survivors must be informed of any test results associated with their rape kits, and the the kits must be preserved for a state's maximum statute of limitations (or for up to 20 years). Additionally, survivors must be notified, in writing, 60 days prior to their kit's intended destruction and can request its preservation beyond the scheduled date.

After the bill was introduced earlier this year—and co-sponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT)—the Senate voted unanimously in favor of its passage. A counterpart piece of legislation, renamed the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016, was then introduced to the House by Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Mimi Walters (R-CA), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), where it passed unanimously in early September. After several minor changes were made between the two bills to consolidate them, the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016 passed unanimously in the Senate in late September and was then sent to the president's desk to be signed into law.

In a statement to Glamour about the passage of the historic bill, Senator Shaheen said:

“Beginning today, our nation’s laws stand firmly on the side of
survivors of sexual assault. It was just over a year ago when Amanda
Nguyen walked into my office, shared her heartbreaking story, and we
began working on legislation. Amidst the partisan bickering and
gridlock in Congress, this law demonstrates that citizens can still
effect positive change and that bipartisan progress is still possible.
Sexual assault remains one of the most underreported crimes and I hope
that these basic rights will encourage more survivors to come forward
and pursue justice. Make no mistake, there’s still much more work to
be done to change the culture around sexual assault, and I will
continue to lead efforts in the Senate for survivors like Amanda.”

Throughout the second term of the Obama administration, the president and his staff have similarly worked to protect the rights of sexual assault survivors, with specific focus on combatting sexual assault on college campuses through the "It's On Us" campaign launched in 2014. Vice President Joe Biden, who authored the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, has been a vocal champion for the cause and has been a longstanding advocate for the rights of sexual assault survivors.

"Violence against women is not a women's issue alone," Vice President Joe Biden said during an appearance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2015. "It's a man's issue as well...So to all of the guys out there—you have to step up. That's how we can change the culture on campus and around the country to one that understands no means no."

In addition to authoring the Sexual Assault Survivor's Rights Act, Senator Shaheen has initiated additional legislative measures to protect survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and harassment. In July, she introduced a bill to set a nationwide standard and protect survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault from being evicted or denied housing because they were victims of such crimes. Last month, she put forth legislation that would make it easier for victims of sexual harassment in rental housing to bring their cases forward and introduced a bill that would improve assistance for women veterans who experience domestic violence. However, with Congress's October recess and the upcoming House and Senate elections, it's unlikely that either of these measures will be voted on before its next session in 2017.